Scores Killed in India Train Wreck

In eastern India, at least 61 people have been killed and more than 150 others injured after an high speed express train slammed into a stationary train in West Bengal state.

Most passengers were sleeping when the accident occured at around 2:00 am Monday morning in Sainthia station, bout 200 kilometers north of the state capital, Kolkata.

Two coaches and a luggage car were reduced to a mass of tangled metal. The impact of the collision was so strong that one was flung onto an overhead bridge at the rail station.

Local residents were among the first to arrive on the scene, and help those trapped inside the coaches. Metal cutters sliced through the twisted metal as rescue operations carried on for several hours.

Samir Goswami is a railway spokesman for the area in which the accident occurred.

"Our priority is to give medical attention to people who are affected. Most of the people have been taken to the local hospital," said Goswami.

Later, Indian Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee refused to rule out the possibility of sabotage, but other officials said there was no evidence of foul play.

This is the second train disaster in West Bengal in less than two months. In May, nearly 100 people died in a train collision blamed on Maoist sympathizers.

India's massive rail network carries more than 18 million people, everyday, and is the main mode of transport for long distance passengers across the vast country. Outdated technology and equipment is often blamed for frequent accidents.